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| "Good evening,
and welcome to a private showing of three paintings, displayed here for
the first time. Each is a collector's item in its own way - not
because of any special artistic quality, but because each captures on a
canvas, suspends in time and space, a frozen moment of a
nightmare." Play The Theme
(303kb). |
 With those words -
five years after The Twilight Zone - creator/host Rod Serling
once again introduced television viewers to a fantasy/anthology series
that would shatter the traditional and often mundane video landscape.
Serling viewed Night Gallery as a logical extension of The
Twilight Zone, but while both series shared an interest in
thought-provoking dark fantasy, the lion's share of
Zone's offerings were science-fiction while Night
Gallery focused on the other side of the genre: horror and the
supernatural. |
| Night Gallery
distinguished itself from the first: the 1969 pilot springboarded the
career of Steven Spielberg, who, in his first industry job, directed
silver screen legend Joan Crawford in the film's second segment,
"Eyes." Picked up as a series, Night Gallery's brief
first season was televised along with three other series as part of
NBC's experimental programming wheel, "Four in One." Earning
an Emmy nomination for "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's
Bar," the series was granted a full season in the next year, producing
such memorable episodes as "A Fear of Spiders," "Silent
Snow, Secret Snow," "The Messiah On Mott Street," "Cool
Air," "A Question of Fear," "Pickman's
Model," "Camera Obscura," "Lindemann's Catch,"
"Green Fingers," "The Sins of the Fathers," and
"The Caterpillar." |
| Strains began to surface,
however, between Serling and executive producer Jack Laird over
Laird's inclusion of a series of brief, comedic vignettes among the
more serious entries, as well as unsanctioned changes to a handful of
Serling's scripts. Further complications ensued when the series was
renewed for a third season. NBC cut Night Gallery down from an hour
to a half hour, requesting additionally a refocus in the story material
from the thoughtful to the lurid. Although the series brought off a few
stylish turns out of this new format - "The Return of the
Sorcerer," "Rare Objects" - few of the new segments matched
the excellence of the previous seasons. Ratings plummeted and NBC cancelled
Night Gallery after fifteen shows. |
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| For those with a sound
card and speakers: We have recently added a sampling from the musical
contributors to the show. Please pardon the sound effects and occasional
dialogue. We are working on a CD release of music from the show, but until
that occurs we must use imperfect sources. |
| In order to listen to the new
theme music selections, you must have the Windows Media Player installed
on your computer. Please take a few moments to download and setup this FREE
multi-media software. |
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|
THE FIRST SEASON
6 Episodes,
60 Minutes
( The * indicates a segment was
severely altered in syndication ) |
 |
Play The Theme Music  |
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| Night Gallery #1
( 12-16-70 ) |
| THE DEAD MAN*
An experiment in hypnosis leads to a terrifying conclusion when
a physician attempts to revive his subject from death. Cast: Carl Betz,
Jeff Corey, Louise Sorel. View
The Painting (12kb) / Play The Music |
| THE HOUSEKEEPER*
A dabbler in black magic schemes to switch his rich wife's
cold persona for a warm, loving soul. Cast: Larry Hagman, Jeanette Nolan,
Suzy Parker. |
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| Night Gallery #2
( 12-23-70 ) |
| ROOM WITH A
VIEW An invalid husband plots revenge against his faithless
wife with the unwitting aid of his nurse. Cast: Joseph Wiseman, Diane
Keaton, Angel Tompkins. |
| THE LITTLE
BLACK BAG* Miraculous healing - and abrupt tragedy - result when
a 21st century medical bag falls into the hands of a discredited 20th
century doctor. Cast: Burgess Meredith, Chill Wills. |
| THE NATURE
OF THE ENEMY* Mission control scientists watch helplessly when
members of a lunar expedition are mysteriously attacked. Cast: Joseph
Campanella. View
The Painting (25kb) |
|
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| Night Gallery #3
( 12-30-70 ) |
| THE HOUSE
A former sanitarium patient discovers a house she has known all her life
- but never dared enter - in a recurring dream. Cast: Joanna
Pettet. View
The Painting (21kb) / Play The Music |
| CERTAIN SHADOWS ON THE
WALL A woman dies under the care of her sinister brother, but
her accusing shadow remains indelibly cast on the parlor wall. Cast: Louis
Hayward, Rachel Roberts, Agnes Moorehead, Grayson Hall. |
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| Night Gallery #4
( 1-6-71 ) |
| MAKE ME LAUGH
A desperate comic makes a deal with an inept miracle worker in a
ploy to boost his sagging career. Cast: Godfrey Cambridge, Jackie Vernon,
Tom Bosley. View
The Painting (45kb) |
| CLEAN KILLS AND OTHER
TROPHIES* A fanatical big-game hunter forces his son to shoot
a deer - inviting the vengeance of terrible gods. Cast: Raymond
Massey. View
The Painting (16kb) |
|
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|
| Night Gallery #5
( 1-13-71 ) |
| PAMELA'S VOICE
A man murders his magpie wife only to find the arrangement less
permanent than he'd hoped. Cast: Phyllis Diller, John
Astin. View
The Painting (30kb) |
| LONE SURVIVOR*
A passing ship rescues an unconscious man in a lifeboat labeled
"Titanic" - three years after the liner sank. Cast: John Colicos,
Torin Thatcher. View
The Painting (32kb) |
| THE DOLL*
A hideous doll becomes an agent of revenge against an officer in Queen
Victoria's colonial forces. Cast: John Williams, Shani Wallis, Henry
Silva. View
The Painting (12kb) |
|
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|
| Night Gallery #6
( 1-20-71 ) |
| THEY'RE TEARING DOWN
TIM RILEY'S BAR* A has-been salesman is haunted by phantoms
from a happier past. (Emmy nomination, Outstanding Single Program - Drama
or Comedy, 1970-71) Cast: William Windom, Diane Baker, Bert Convy, John
Randolph. View
The Painting (31kb) / Play The Music |
| THE LAST LAUREL
Astral projection is the key to a crippled athlete's plans for
revenge. Cast: Jack Cassidy, Martine Beswick. |
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